It is a well-known fact that as the Chicago Bulls dynasty was coming to an end in the late ’90s, things were falling apart rapidly. With frustrations growing between Scottie Pippen and the Bulls front office, it was only a matter of time before something gave way.
The matter reached a breaking point leading up to the 1997 NBA Draft, as Scottie Pippen was reportedly on the trade block. While discussing this matter on the “Cousins” podcast, however, Tracy McGrady shared an interesting narrative that was running parallel to the rumors surrounding Pippen’s imminent departure.
“I had a very interesting draft process,” McGrady recalled. “My agent called me the night before the draft, and they had to rush me- they had to find a clinic because the Chicago Bulls were trying to make a trade.”
In 1997, Tracy McGrady was one of the more promising young prospects on the draft board. However, given that the Bulls were in no position to acquire him, the mention of the franchise seems out of place. On that note, McGrady continued:
“If anyone watched ‘The Last Dance,’ they were talking about trading Scottie Pippen around that time in 1997. I was going to be a part of that deal.”
“They called me the night before the draft. I had to go to the clinic, take a physical, and it was about to go down the next night. Jerry Reinsdorf and Michael Jordan axed that deal, and the trade didn’t go through… I was about to be a part of that whole process with Scottie Pippen… Sitting in the green room as an 18-year-old, just finished high school, and there’s a possibility I might be playing with the greatest player in the world.”
From McGrady’s perspective, the events leading up to the draft would have been an absolute blur. Going from being a highly touted prospect to potentially playing alongside Michael Jordan over the course of a few hours can be quite the rollercoaster. Unfortunately, with the Bulls’ superstar set on winning another title, there was virtually no chance for the trade to happen.
The trade scenario involving the Bulls and the Celtics in 1997 was chaotic, to say the least.
Coming off a horrible season (15-67), the Celtics acquired two lottery picks in the 1997 NBA Draft (No. 3 and No. 6). However, with the intention of making a splash, Boston had shown interest in swapping the picks for Scottie Pippen.
The deal was effectively done. However, as McGrady recalled, Michael Jordan and Jerry Reinsdorf collectively stopped the trade from going through.
Although the reason was to make another run at winning the title, rumors even suggest that, because Jordan’s contract was almost up, seeing Pippen leave may have dissuaded Jordan from playing that season. Either way, McGrady’s chance to team up with Jordan disappeared.
Needless to say, this worked out well for the Bulls. With Pippen’s place on the roster secured, the Bulls made one last title push, winning their sixth title in eight years and cementing their place as one of the most successful teams in the modern era.
Meanwhile, Tracy McGrady was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the ninth overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. Although this may be lower than anticipated from the perspective of the trade, and certainly fell short of his expectations of playing alongside one of the greatest players ever, McGrady carved out an impressive Hall of Fame-worthy NBA career for himself.
